Naked Woman Torches RV In Orange County, Cops Say

SANTA ANA, CA — A woman was placed in a mental health facility Thursday after being found naked outside a friend's motorhome that she allegedly torched two days after getting into a standoff with police officers.

Authorities got a call about the burning RV in the 2800 block of Pullman Street around 8:35 a.m., according to Santa Ana police Cpl. Anthony Bertagna, who said it was the same motorhome police responded to on Tuesday afternoon when the woman, sans clothes, was trying to get motorists to pull over.

The owner of the RV, who is a longtime friend of the woman's, was letting her stay in the motorhome while he slept in his van, Bertagna said.

When he woke up Thursday morning, the RV's owner asked the woman if she wanted breakfast.

"She became belligerent so he walked away and went to get breakfast," Bertagna said. "When he returned, he saw his RV was on fire and she was standing outside of it unclothed."

The woman, who is in her 50s, was taken to an area mental health facility and placed on a 72-hour hold, Bertagna said. Her name was withheld.

About 3 p.m. Tuesday, police were called when she was seen walking along Pullman Street trying to get the attention of motorists, Bertagna said. She had allegedly smashed out the windows of the RV and thrown the owner's property out on the street, the corporal said.

"When officers got there, she confronted them with a knife," which triggered the barricade situation, Bertagna said.

"We had maybe two misdemeanors ... but (the RV owner) wasn't willing to prosecute, so we made the decision to back off and figured she would come out on her own eventually, but she didn't. We didn't think it was worth getting into a knife fight over two misdemeanors."

The woman had left a mental health facility two weeks ago and asked her friend for help, Bertagna said.
"She's known him for 20-plus years," he said.

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